A Rock and a Hard Place
by BBPRIMEFAN101
Summary: You might say it was a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong. While a few of the Autobots played the game with Spike, Carly and Lily, Optimus winds up stuck in his hiding spot, and the team races against the clock to get him out before a load of boulders crush and entomb their leader.


"**A Rock and a Hard Place"**

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><p><strong>Summary: You might say it was a game of hide-and-seek gone wrong. While a few of the Autobots played the game with Spike, Carly and Lily, Optimus winds up stuck in his hiding spot, and the team races against the clock to get him out before a load of boulders crush and entomb their leader. <strong>

**G1 Transformers © Hasbro**

**Lily © Me**

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><p>"Ready or not, here I come!" Spike exclaimed as he uncovered his eyes after counting to 30. He chuckled as he ran out across the desert, scanning the area. His mission was to find his girlfriend, Carly, and his pals Bumblebee and Lily, and whoever he found first would be It next.<p>

He noticed a few foot prints, easily indicating they were Carly's, leading towards a thick shrub up against a large slab of the mountain. "Ooh, I see footprints," he deliberately called out loudly. "I wonder whose footprints these are." He peered over the shrub, but he was surprised to find nobody there. "Huh. A false trail. Very clever of you, Carly!"

Spike turned towards the volcano the Ark was embedded into where he heard faint, little giggles and grinned. He had a hunch and raced towards a large boulder, peering behind it. "Aha! I found you, you little sneak!"

"Aw," Carly groaned as she got to her feet, brushing the dirt off of her clothes. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

"You giggle too loudly, even when you don't mean to," Spike said and laughed at the pout on Carly's face.

"Well, you still have to find the others, even though I'm It next round," Carly huffed, folding her arms over her chest.

"Oh, quit being a sore loser, Carls. Come on, help me find Bee and Lily." Then the two raced off into the desert. Since Carly had seen where Bumblebee and Lily ran off to hide, Spike followed her. When they were close to a cave on the side of the volcano, Carly pointed into it and grinned.

Spike slowly approached the cave and looked inside. He could see a faint glimmer and shadow of something and grinned. "I found you, whoever's in there!"

"Aw, man," came Bumblebee's voice, and a yellow Volkswagen bug rolled out of the cave. "I was sure you wouldn't find me this time."

"Sorry, Bee," Spike said with a laugh. "At least I found Carly first."

"You did?!" Bee laughed. "Didn't she say that she'd be the last one you'd find? She pretty much jinxed herself!" Carly stood outside of the cave and huffed again, poorly pretending to care less. "So, Lily's the only one left, huh? I think I saw her head towards the other side of the volcano. Hop in."

He opened his doors and Carly and Spike jumped in, and Bee headed for the other side of the mountain. "I think she's behind that tree," Bumblebee whispered.

Spike got out of the vehicle and approached the tree Bee pointed out, but Lily wasn't behind it. "I don't see her," he called to them. "You sure it was this tree?!"

"Yahoo!"

Before he could even look up, he heard something land right behind him, making him jump out of his yellow slickers. "Waah!" When he turned around, he saw Lily standing there, laughing at him.

"Ha ha ha! I made you scream like a little girl!" she giggled.

"Lily?! Where'd you come from?!"

"From the tree, silly," Lily said, pointing up to the branches. "I climbed up the tree. I like to express my inner monkey every once in a while."

Spike chuckled and ruffled her hair and the two joined up with Bumblebee, who had already transformed into robot mode, and Carly. "Okay, Carly, you're It this round!"

"Pardon me," said a voice behind them. They turned to see Optimus Prime approaching them, with Ironhide and Jazz right behind him.

"Hi, Optimus!" Lily said.

"What is it you need?" asked Bee.

"Well, the lot of us had been observing you four for a while now, and we're curious to know what you are doing," Optimus explained.

"Oh, we're playing hide-and-seek," said Spike.

"Now what in the name of Cybertron is that?" asked Ironhide.

"It's a game where one person counts and the others go and hide. If you are the first one found, you're It the next round once the other players have been found."

"You all should play, too!" Lily exclaimed. "The more players, the better."

"Oh, we would, Lily," Optimus said with a chuckle, "but I am afraid we Autobots may be a bit too old to play such a game."

"And too big," Ironhide grumbled.

"Aw, please?" Lily pleaded.

"Well...I don't know," Optimus groaned.

"C'mon, Prime," said Jazz. "It could be fun for all of us! When's the last time we ever played a game?"

Optimus thought on it a little more. Perhaps it could be a fun experience. Plus, he and his Autobots needed a break from worrying about the Decepticons. "Very well, then," he declared, "we'll play along."

"Yay!" Lily squealed and hugged his hand.

"So, how do ya play?" said Ironhide.

"Well, since I'm It," Carly said, stepping forward, "I will be counting to 30. Your job is to find a hiding place before I count to 30. And make sure it's a spot where you cannot be easily seen."

"Got it," Optimus said, giving a thumbs-up.

"And we can hide anywhere?" asked Jazz

"Anywhere you want!" said Bumblebee.

"But please be sure it's close to headquarters," Optimus said.

"No problem, Prime."

"Okay, now while I count to 30, you guys go hide. Ready? Go! One...two...three...four..." Carly began counting, and the others raced off to hide.

Jazz chose to hide in the forest, transforming into vehicle mode so he would be less visible. Ironhide hid behind one of the Ark's engines. Bumblebee hid in a nearby ditch. Lily crouched down behind a boulder, and Spike hid in the cave this time.

"Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen..."

Optimus frantically searched for a hiding spot, but being the largest Autobot, there weren't many available choices for his size. Then, he noticed a large crevasse on the side of the mountain. Peering inside, he saw it grew wider the further it went down. It seemed wide enough for him to squeeze through.

"Twenty three...twenty four..."

He made up his mind and wormed his way feet first into the crevasse. Once he reached the bottom, he leaned back against the wall and silenced himself.

"Twenty nine...Thirty! Ready or not, here I come," exclaimed Carly. Right away, she noticed large tracks in the dirt heading off into different directions, but she followed the one leading to the woods first. After a brief moment's search, she found Jazz. "Found you!"

"Dang, you're good at this!" Jazz said with a laugh.

"Your tracks gave you away, Jazz," Carly said.

"Aw, man! Better learn to do a better job in coverin' them next time. So, I'm It now?"

"When we start the next round, yes," Carly said. "But for now, you can help me find the others." Then they followed another pair of track leading them towards the Ark.

"I know these tracks," Jazz grinned and looked up at the ship's engines. "Hey, Ironhide! You up there, old timer?!"

"_Old timer_?!" Ironhide roared and came out of hiding. "Why, you music-blaring brute, wait till I get my hands on you!"

Carly giggled. "Found you, Ironhide!" She laughed when Ironhide started stammering and groaning, and watched him drag himself down. "Don't feel bad, Ironhide. You're a beginner. You'll get the hang of it. Now come on, help me find the others." Carly and Jazz took off through the desert, Ironhide grumbling behind them.

Throughout the game, after a few minutes of searching and stumbling upon another set of tire tracks, they found Bumblebee in the ditch. Then with Bee's help, they find Spike in the cave, and then discovered Lily behind the boulder. Now there was only one left.

"Gee-whiz. For a beginner at hide-and-seek, Prime's sure good at it," Jazz laughed. "Guess all that war training paid off!"

"Come on, he's gotta be around here somewhere," Ironhide said and they all raced by the crevasse Optimus hid in without even noticing. The Autobot leader tried to quiet his giggles; there was no way they'd find him. He only needs to hide out a little longer and he wins the game.

After a good 5 minute search, everyone regrouped. "Well, I didn't find him," Spike sighed. "Anyone else?"

"I've circled the entire volcano," Bee said, "and found no trace."

"Well, I guess he's the winner. And you're it next round, Jazz," Lily said, then cupped her hands around her mouth. "OPTIMUS! YOU CAN COME OUT NOW! YOU WIN THE GAME!"

Optimus let out a victorious laugh and tried to sit up—but he couldn't move. He tried again, but he still couldn't budge. He tried getting his feet to the ground so he could push himself up, but he was so wedged into the bottom of the crevasse, he couldn't move anything except his helm. He was stuck in his hiding spot!

"Uh oh," Optimus said nervously.

"PRIME! COME ON OUT SO WE CAN START NEXT ROUND! I'M IT!" Jazz cried.

"Oh, dear. This is not good." Optimus then activated his comm. link and messaged the Autobots. **::Jazz, Bumblebee, Ironhide::**

"Hang on, guys, I'm getting a transmission," said Ironhide.

"Me, too," said Bumblebee and they answer. **::Bumblebee here::**

**::This is Optimus Prime::**

**::Optimus! Where in the name of Alpha Trion are you?! We searched for ya everywhere!::**

**::Well, not everywhere, Ironhide. I am giving you my coordinates now. I will explain when you get here::**

**::No worries, Prime. We'll be over there lickity split. Jazz out:: **

Jazz turned to the others. "We know where Prime is! Come on!"

Carly, Spike and Lily followed the Autobots toward the backside of the volcano, and Ironhide suddenly stopped. "This don't make any sense. The signal is coming from...Ya gotta be pulling my leg here."

They arrived at the crevasse.

"Optimus is down _there_?!" Carly exclaimed.

Bumblebee peered down in there, shone his lights and gasped. "Optimus?!"

The Prime looked up. "Yes, it's me, Bumblebee!"

Lily peered over the edge and laughed. "How did you even get down there?!"

"Long story, Lily. I sort of wedged myself into the bottom of this crevasse, and now I can't get free," Optimus explained. "I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Literally."

"No sweat, Prime," Jazz said. "We'll get ya out in no time."

"I messaged the others. They're on their way here as we speak," Ironhide said.

Optimus sighed. Oh, great. Now the others will get to see him this way and laugh, only increasing his humiliation. If he gets out of this, they will never let him live it down. Optimus Prime, the great Autobot leader, trapped in a crevasse, his own fault for being stuck. He will never hear the end of it.

A few moments later, Sparkplug and the other Autobots arrived on sight. Optimus could hear them laughing. "I don't believe it," Bluestreak guffawed. "_The _Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, is stuck in a crevasse and can't get out!"

"This is one for the memory bank!" Sideswipe said as he and his twin Sunstreaker held their sides while laughing.

"Yo, Optimus, how's the view down there?!" Cliffjumper snickered. Optimus sighed as he heard one joke after another, shaking his head.

Sparkplug laughed then cleared his throat. "Alright, you guys, enough giggling. Let's get the big guy out. Any ideas?"

"Why don't we—WHAM! BANG! ZOW!—blast him out?" said Warpath.

"Worth a try. Just be careful," said Ratchet.

Then the Autobots all aim their blasters at the mouth of the crevasse and fired, sending chunks of rock and dust in the air and down into the crevasse, making Optimus cough and his vision blur a little. While they focused on the crevasse, however, no one noticed the cracks forming in the side of the volcano, inching up from the crevasse to a small Cliffside, supporting heavy rocks.

At least no one noticed until they heard a loud _CRUNCH! _"Autobots, cease fire!" exclaimed Ironhide. "We can't keep blasting at the rocks, or else they'll fall and enclose Optimus in that crevasse. And who knows, they may even crush him in the process!" The Autobots all gasp and put away their weapons. Ironhide, meanwhile, went to the crevasse and peered down. "How you doing down there, Prime?!"

"I'm ***cough cough*** alright," Optimus hacks away the rock dust. "But a few rocks have landed in my lap...You might say I'm taking a rock bath."

Ironhide sighed and shook his helm. "Just hang tight, Prime. We'll get ya out somehow."

"And we'd best do it before it gets dark," said Prowl, "and before that little cliff supporting those giant boulders crumbles."

"I can call up some of my boys," Sparkplug said. "We can help widen the bottom of the crevasse enough for Optimus to climb out. We've got a bunch of jackhammers in storage when we were repairing old roads. We can use rope to climb down."

"Not a bad idea," said Wheeljack.

"Can I help?" Lily asked, bouncing up to Sparkplug.

"It could be dangerous, Lily," Ironhide told the little girl. "Even Optimus would say it's best if ya wait on the surface."

"Aw, but I wanna help."

"You can," Spike said. "You can make sure the ropes are secure as we lower ourselves into the crevasse."

"Okay."

"What can I do?" asked Carly.

"You can help us load some of the tools."

"Alright, we've got a plan. Let's just see how well it goes," said Ironhide. "Brawn, Grapple, Hoist, Bluestreak. We will do what we can to keep those boulders from falling. The rest of you bring the humans and required tools. Now, roll out!" Half of the team drove off with Spike, Carly and Sparkplug while Lily and the others remained at the crevasse. Optimus sat in his little rock pile, waiting for his rescue to come.

~one hour later~

Optimus nearly fell asleep while he waited until he heard the familiar revving engines of his teammates, and then he heard voices of multiple male humans, the clanking of tools and the zipping of rope. Glancing up, he sees Sparkplug, Spike and a few other workers secure their ropes at the mouth of the crevasse. At last, some help has arrived.

"Sorry for the wait, Optimus," Spike called down below. "Traffic is horrible at this time of day, and a wreck had happened along the interstate!"

"That's alright, Spike," Optimus shouted back up. "I'm ready when you are!"

"Alright boys," Sparkplug said, slipping on a pair of gloves and goggles and a bandana over his mouth and nose, "let's head on down." Lily played her part in making sure the ropes were secure as Spike, Sparkplug and the other workers slowly make their way down into the crevasse.

Once they reached the bottom, Spike and Sparkplug could see the kind of pickle Optimus was in. A large pile of rocks covered him up to his neck, and his arms were barely sticking out. He was coated in rock dust, and he looked well pinned to the inner wall of the cavern. "Geez, that's got to be uncomfortable," Sparkplug whistled.

"Yes, my neck's begun to ache a little," Optimus groaned, rotating his helm as much as he could.

"Don't worry, Prime. You'll be free from your rock prison in no time," Spike said.

"Alright, boys! Bring on down the tools! Nice and slow!" Sparkplug shouted to the others up top. Then, some of the Autobots helped lower boxes tied to ropes filled with jackhammers and pick-axes into the crevasse. "Now, first let's try and get some of these rocks off of you." The workers climbed up and started to lift rocks, pass them down to each other and place them somewhere else. After half an hour of moving tire-sized rocks, they managed to expose some of Optimus's shoulders, chest and upper abdomen. They could see a few dents where the rocks had landed on him.

Optimus took a deep breath and sighed. "That feels better," he said, relieved to have some of that excess weight and pressure lifted off of him.

"Okay, let's get to work," said Spike. The workers passed out jackhammers and pick-axes amongst each other and spread out throughout the narrow cavern. It was wide enough for the large number of humans to move freely around, but it was like being pressed into a school locker for the Prime. While he was known for his patience, even Optimus had his limits; and his body was beginning to ache from being stuck in that same position for almost two hours.

The workers began swinging their pick-axes and jamming their jackhammers into the side of the crevasse near Optimus's head, using his shoulders for support, while Spike and Sparkplug resumed moving rocks off of Optimus's body. The Prime did find it odd-feeling to have these humans walk all over him, but he didn't mind it all that much. He just hoped he could keep still as long as they needed him to.

The dust that flew off of the crevasse wall where the pick-axes and jackhammers struck it clouded up against both sides of Optimus's face and swirled around him. It wasn't too much of a bother at first, but now it had become a nuisance. First it nearly clouded his vision to the point where he almost went blind, then it almost clogged up his vents to where he couldn't breathe. What more could it do?

He wished he had never asked that as a new feeling came upon him. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was irritating. He could feel some of the rock dust land on the inside of his battle mask along his mouth and nose, and he did his best not to accidentally inhale it, otherwise he'd start coughing again and the humans could get hurt. But when he unintentionally inhaled through his nose, that's when an annoying itch suddenly appeared. It started out as a light tingle, nothing to worry about much, but as the rock dust continued to collect inside of his battle mask and the more he inhaled by accident, the more the itch grew. He figured a few quiet sniffles would help get rid of it—but it in fact only made things worse as the itch then grew into an irritable tickle.

As they continued removing rocks, Spike and Sparkplug Witwicky noticed they were starting to move up and down, and some of the rocks began shifting around. The rising and falling was uneven, some were quicker and some were slower. They also heard faint groans coming not so far from them—in fact right above their heads. Glancing at each other, they realized that Optimus's chest was rising and falling. They couldn't help but have a feeling something was wrong.

"Optimus?" said Spike.

"S-Spike...S-Spuh...Sparkplug...You, you a-and the w-workers...need to...t-to move..." Optimus stammered, speaking in between heavy breaths. Confused as to why Optimus's shoulders were also starting to rise and fall, the workers stopped.

"What's wrong, Prime?" asked Sparkplug.

Optimus fought a sniffle as his breathing began to hitch. "R-Rock dust...I-It...It's in my, my mask...i-i-irritating...s-senses...it's m-making m-me...n-need to...t-to...!" Optimus wasn't able to speak any longer as his words became lost in a fit of quick breathing.

Suddenly the Witwicky boys knew what Optimus meant and their eyes widen. They could tell he was fighting it long enough for them all to get off of him, but he was losing that fight and quick. And being inside such an enclosed space..."Oh, dear, this is not good," Sparkplug muttered as he and Spike jumped down. "Boys, get off there, now! I think Prime's gonna blow!" The workers then dropped their tools as they scampered off of the heaving Prime's body, reaching the crevasse floor and backing up. Optimus heaved hitching breaths a few times, when out of nowhere the irritating feeling receded. Relieved, he sighed and relaxed. The workers relaxed and were about to resume working when suddenly...

"_Ah, ahhh, AHHHHH! __**HAAAAAT-CHOOOOOOOOOO**__!_"

Optimus sneezed a powerful sneeze—despite it being mostly covered by his battle mask—that shook the walls of the crevasse, causing loose rocks up above to break loose and fall, and the pile of boulders that covered Optimus's lower body began to roll down. Workers ran around avoiding the falling chunks of rock, and a large puff cloud of dust blinded them.

After a moment the trembling subsided and the panic ceased. Optimus instantly became worried for the humans. "Oh, Primus! Is everyone alright?! Anybody hurt?!"

"We're good, Optimus," Spike called as he and his father came out of hiding. "And bless you! That was one heck of a sneeze there. I never even knew you guys could do it!"

Optimus chuckled sheepishly with a sniffle. "Thank you. And I sincerely apologize. I didn't mean for any of this happen."

"It's alright, Prime," Sparkplug said. "It happens and you couldn't help it. And hey, at least you managed to free your legs a little."

"Hey! What's going on down there?!" they all heard Ratchet shouting down to them.

From the surface, all the other Autobots could see was a puff cloud of rock dust rising up and out of the crevasse. "We heard a loud boom and felt the earth shake," Bumblebee called out. "What happened?!"

"We'll tell you later, Bumblebee!" Spike replied.

"Have you guys made any progress down there?!" Ironhide asked.

"Yeah, we have!" Sparkplug replied. "We've managed to chip away enough rock for Optimus to move around a little, and his arms and legs are free from the rubble! We should be done within another half hour!"

"Well, you'd better hurry and try to make it less than that, because them large boulders right above y'all are about to come rolling down on ya and smash ya!" Glancing up anxiously, Ironhide could see Brawn and Bluestreak struggling to keep the cliff edge together. It started to crumble from beneath their hands.

"We hear ya!" Sparkplug turned towards the other workers. "Alright, we need to move and quick! We don't have much time left before those boulders seal us in this crevasse, or before they fall on top of us and crush us like ants. Let's get to work, on the double! Move, move, move!"

The workers continued to chip away the wall of the crevasse wherever the Prime was caught in it as quickly as they could. Some of them tried to get back onto his shoulders by climbing up his torso, but since Optimus was covered in rock dust, his armor was very slippery and the workers often slid back down because of the lack of friction; that, and the Prime's now fully exposed belly kept on jiggling up and down as he suddenly started laughing.

"Hey, cut it out! I'm ticklish!" Optimus giggled. The workers all exchanged glances and chuckled at the thought of a robot, more specifically an _Autobot_, _THE_ Autobot leader, _Optimus Prime_, being ticklish. But they still needed to climb up in order to get the job done. However the dust prevented them from climbing even higher and they slid back down—some even slid towards the sides of Optimus's torso, clinging to him there, and the Prime laughed louder. "S-Stop thahat! He-he-he-he! It tickles!"

Spike laughed while Sparkplug pressed his palm and chuckled. At this rate, they'd never get the job done since Optimus laughing and wriggling is keeping them from climbing up. That's when an idea dawned on him. "Hey, you guys!" Sparkplug called to the workers and they turned towards him, slowly sliding back down Optimus's stomach while the Autobot leader struggled to get his giggles under control. "I may have an idea on getting the big guy out of here much more quicker than with our tools, and it may feel kind of silly, but it's sure to work. Boys, I need you all to tickle Optimus Prime!"

The workers widened their eyes and looked at him as if he was joking, so did Optimus; the Prime could already see where this was going and became anxious. "I know it sounds silly," Spike stepped in, "but I can see how this will work. And none of us want to be flattened into pancakes, right?" The workers mumbled and nodded, agreeing with Spike. "Right then! Let's get to it! Tickle that Prime silly!"

Optimus gasped and fought back to keep himself from giggling as he felt the humans race up and down his belly and sides on their hands, knees, even sliding down on their backs and fronts. Some, including Spike and Sparkplug, were actually tickling him, wiggling their warm fingers into the armor that covered his belly. Like before, this was a fight that the Prime was losing quickly. He pressed his lips together to muffle a few giggles, but as the laughs continued to build up he started snickering, up until he couldn't hold it back any longer.

"..._BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHEHE! S-STOP IT! THAT TICKLES, THAT TIIHIHICKLES!_" Optimus bellowed. Ticklish shivers shook his body and he couldn't sit still. He unintentionally began twisting his body and kick his legs, rocking back and forth, bumping into the wall of the crevasse, and chunks of it fell beside him. Now he understood why they were doing this. They were tickling him without mercy so he would wriggle and chip away the rocks that concealed him. And so far, it seemed to be working.

"_HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AW H-HURRY UHUP! THAT REALLY TICKLES! HAHAHAHAHA! HEEHEEHEEEHEE!_"

The workers all laughed at the sight of the mighty Optimus Prime giggling like a child. They were also impressed seeing Sparkplug's plan actually working out. They just hoped the giggling Autobot leader doesn't throw them off like a bull at the rodeo.

From up top, the Autobots looked at each other funny. Was that Optimus..._laughing_ down there?

"Would y'all hurry it up?!" Cliffjumper shouted down below. "We can't hold these boulders up forever!"

"We're almost there," Spike shouted back. "Not much longer!"

After another moment of endless tickling, Optimus had caused enough of the crevasse wall for him to fully wriggle around. Sparkplug's plan had worked flawlessly—despite the flying pebbles and rising dust cloud. Plus, Optimus's booming laughter echoed throughout the crevasse.

Soon enough, the wall of the crevasse had doubled in width. "Alright, we did it! Everyone, you can stop now," said Sparkplug, and the workers slid down Optimus's stomach, causing him to jolt and giggle. "Alright, Prime, let's get you out of here. Can you stand?"

"I...I can try," Optimus said as he let out a few more chuckled. Sitting up and using the inner crevasse wall for support, he slowly got to his feet but then fell to his knees.

"Optimus! Are you okay?!" Spike exclaimed, worried.

Optimus shook his helm and laughed. "I am alright...I think I am a little exhausted from that tickle session."

"Well, you better regain some strength quick," said Sparkplug. "The guys up top can't hold back those boulders for much longer!"

"Understood," Optimus said, giving his helm a nod. Using whatever strength he had left, he pushed himself to nearly standing up completely and began to climb. The humans loaded up their equipment and began their way back up using the ropes.

Bumblebee ran to the others eagerly. "It's Optimus! He's free! He's coming up!" he exclaimed.

"About time!" Lily said, folding her arms over her chest.

"He ain't out of the woods yet," said Ironhide. "Prowl, with me!" The two Autobots took off to the mouth of the crevasse and each took hold of Optimus's hands. Gently, but quickly, they lifted and pulled him out of the crevasse, laying him out on the ground. "Prime! You alright?!"

Optimus warily gave a thumbs up. "I've...been through worse...Ironhide," he said.

"Is it clear?!" cried Brawn. "We can't hold it much longer!"

Prowl checked and saw the last of the humans crawl out of the crevasse and run to safety. "You're clear! Let those rocks roll!"

Brawn and Bluestreak released their hold on the boulders and jumped out of their path. The massive rocks tumbled down the side of the volcano and break apart as they approached the crevasse, slipping through the opening and crashing at the bottom with a thunderous boom.

"Wow...to think what could've happened if we were still down there," Spike said in awe.

"Well, we're back on the surface and we're alive," said Sparkplug, patting Spike on the back, "and Optimus is unstuck."

Ratchet went to Optimus and helped him to his feet. "I am giving you a full maintenance check, Optimus! And a decent bath. You're all dusty!"

Optimus chuckled. "Yes, I think I could use both of those," he said. Then he glanced up at the sky. "It's nearly dark already?"

"Indeed, and we should be heading back," said Prowl.

"Hey, Optimus!" cried Lily as she ran to the Prime's feet. "Next time, don't get yourself in a pickle...or in a crevasse, okay?"

Optimus chuckled again while the tiny human girl giggled. "I'll be sure to remember that without a problem, Lily."

Ratchet and Ironhide helped lug Optimus back to their head quarters with the others following close behind. Once they were inside, Ratchet took Optimus to the wash room while the Autobots headed for their quarters for the night and the humans settled on the couch to watch TV. Not long after, they heard a strange sound coming from the wash room.

"Ratchet! Stop that!" Optimus cried.

Carly and Lily turned towards the noise with funny looks on their faces. "Is that Optimus..._giggling_?" asked Carly.

"Do my ears deceive me?" said Lily.

Spike and Sparkplug chuckled as they glanced at one another then continued watching TV.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>I hope you guys liked it! please be sure to read and review ^^<strong>


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